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Setting up a Photo Booth

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#151
^ this.
This is also one of the biggest hurdles I face with stock photos, because they don't do trim specific interior photos.
This becomes a huge problem when you get into things like Ford Sync that comes in 3-4 versions, different screen sizes, etc.
You need accurate interior photos because that's where the customer spends their time while driving and those are the features they want to know about.
 
#152
Those are fantastic comparisons @joe.pistell :thumbup:

You're right that there is a ton that goes into good photography (definition: the capture of light). In your comparisons it is quite obvious the first thing needed is a photographer who actually appreciates what the need for the image is. Second to that is a camera that can take a detailed image. And then one needs to make sure the images movement from the computer to online isn't degrading the photo to something small and blurry.

On that last point, it helps to appreciate what the ideal aspect ratio and image size will be online. If you're taking 50 megapixel images, but your inventory feed can only accept a 2 megapixel image then something is going to get degraded. Try to take the image at a size that more closely represents the final size so the crappy compression engine doesn't remove too many details.

With the investment Superior Honda has made I'm guessing they aren't fully watching points #1 and 3. I bet they do have an overkill camera that more than satisfies point #2.
 
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#154
joe.pistell said:
GREAT thought and a great study. Alex, your the camera pro here, is this question correct? "Does the image compression of the inventory host compress as cleanly as the camera itself?"
Click to expand...

Without a doubt it is a good question. Unfortunately it is one I don’t know how to answer. Outside of automotive, I find the compression engine of SmugMug to be far superior to Facebook’s, as an example. SmugMug is a website for photographers who are trying to show their images in the best light while Facebook’s focus is on scaling images. So, even though Facebook might have more invested in their compression engines, they’re more focused on volume than quality. To my eye, Facebook images are some of the worst on the Internet.

But how do you ask a HomeNet, a DealerOn, a Dealer Inspire, or any other inventory feeding solution how they handle compression? I’d bet this isn’t something the regular support folks can answer. I was a Dealer.com client for years before I worked there for even more years and I couldn’t tell you a thing about how they did it.
 
#155
Is there an image quality testing tool or site?

Test:
  • Photo #1 Full image, uploaded thru your inventory tool (output = inventory tool's compression)
  • Photo #2, Same original, uncompressed image, compressed via a high-quality compression tool (e.g. SmugMug or whatever), it's size reduced to the inventory tool's max allowable output, then, uploaded thru your inventory tool
This test assumes that the inventory tool will 'pass-thru' and not compress any image that is under it's max allowable output (easy enough to see image stats to verify). If this is true, then...

Results
Photo 1 = Inventory Tool's Compression quality
Photo 2 = Photo compression by outside source.

This is getting interesting! Are some inventory hosts putting out superior images than the others?
 
#157
Alex Snyder said:
Without a doubt it is a good question. Unfortunately it is one I don’t know how to answer. Outside of automotive, I find the compression engine of SmugMug to be far superior to Facebook’s, as an example. SmugMug is a website for photographers who are trying to show their images in the best light while Facebook’s focus is on scaling images. So, even though Facebook might have more invested in their compression engines, they’re more focused on volume than quality. To my eye, Facebook images are some of the worst on the Internet.

But how do you ask a HomeNet, a DealerOn, a Dealer Inspire, or any other inventory feeding solution how they handle compression? I’d bet this isn’t something the regular support folks can answer. I was a Dealer.com client for years before I worked there for even more years and I couldn’t tell you a thing about how they did it.
Click to expand...

Facebook compression is the worst I've seen - they sacrifice quality because for them every kb they save per image is massive reduction in costs. SmugMug, Flickr and other photography companies compress far less. There are a number of ways to handle compression that let you determine exactly what you want to do.

If filesize didn't matter, everyone could use lossless PNG compression and we wouldn't have this issue.
Unfortunately, we have to use JPG to get the size down and that can come at a cost.
I've found that most of our "sweet spot" compression ends up with 300 KB images.
This is typically achieved by resizing the images and then setting the JPEG quality compression to around 60% (varies by compression agent).

We use Intervention which can use different libraries, but we use the GD open source library.
But even within that, the quality to size ratio changed dramatically from GD 2.0.x to GD 2.1.x

The difference is obvious - 300 KB vs 75 KB

20150_toyota_venza_2749_1.jpg


b1073e76748fae11d1d9874990c89d14x.jpg
 
#158
craigh said:
If filesize didn't matter, everyone could use lossless PNG compression and we wouldn't have this issue.
Unfortunately, we have to use JPG to get the size down and that can come at a cost.
Click to expand...

This. There are too many parties involved in this with different resolution/ratio restrictions that also incorporate resizing. Technically speaking you can make your own website whatever you want. There are many options to handle the image compression for page load speed issues but still display a high-quality image. It's the 3rd party hosting, sending and receiving that becomes the problem. They cram large images into 640x480 boxes on 3rd parties still.

Here's an interesting example:
https://static.cargurus.com/images/..._golf_r-pic-1546375701381261781-1024x768.jpeg
The file name is 1024x768, but it's in a 640x480 box. It's all 4:3, but even when a user raised their hand to say, hey I'd like to see a larger image, it's 640x480.

 
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#159
Quoting Alex Snyder "You're right that there is a ton that goes into good photography (definition: the capture of light). In your comparisons it is quite obvious the first thing needed is a photographer who actually appreciates what the need for the image is. Second to that is a camera that can take a detailed image. And then one needs to make sure the images movement from the computer to online isn't degrading the photo to something small and blurry. "

It doesn't matter how elaborate or expensive your photobooth is if you are having your GWC ( guy with camera as we call in the photography biz) handle your inventory photography. You can compare the same exact booth at 3 different dealers and have 3 drastically different outcomes.
It comes down to training and photography experience and knowledge of photography and lighting.

Photobooths are actually harder to use and require more photographic and lighting savvy to achieve the results you are desiring because in most cases, the lighting is darker then shooting outside.
Training is key especially if after investing 30-50K on an indoor photo studio, so it would also be wise to invest in quality knowledgeable people to use it. Not your $12 - $15/ hr lot porter/ detailer/ internet sales guy who has extra time kind person.

These photobooths seem like a large investment and take up a lot of debate about how to build and who makes the best one yet most dealerships are putting the same kind if investment into the person who takes the pictures.
 
#160
My pet peeve with these photo setups is the blurry pictures and the dealers that just auto-upload every picture taken by the camera. So the GWC takes a blurry picture of the steering wheel buttons then snaps a clear(er) picture right after that and then BOTH get uploaded and displayed in the photo gallery.

The Carvana interior photos appear to be average at best. As has been said already, it takes someone that wants to put out good photos and understands the concepts that need to be applied to achieve the desired results. Not just hit the power switch on the turn table and snap a few pictures.

You also don't need expensive camera to do interior 360º photos. On a good overcast day you can get quality interior photos with a Samsung 360 gear camera: https://momento360.com/e/u/6e4ada80...paign=embed&utm_source=other&utm_medium=other


It also works great for RVs. We move RVs so quickly because our in-house marketing has attention to detail and the $150 camera really gives you a sense of standing in the RV..

https://momento360.com/e/u/a9a2c305...paign=embed&utm_source=other&utm_medium=other
 
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